Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

Luke 18:9-14 August 19, 2007

“Watch Your Posture”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Let’s hear it again:
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.” (New Living Translation)

One more time:
He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” (The Message)

To whom was this parable told (according to those three different interpretations of the original Greek text)?
Some who trusted in themselves & their own righteousness,
and in turn treated others with contempt
Some who had great self-confidence, and in turn scorned everyone else
Some who were complacently (smugly) pleased with their moral performance, and in turn looked down their noses at everyone else

Obviously, birds of feather were flocking together – or the word ‘some’ would not be there. ‘Some who were…’ Nothing in the Scripture is unintentional, so a point is being made that Jesus is teaching a group of like-minded sinners. Maybe a group like us.
If we’re honest, every single one of us struggles with pride. The person who says, “I don’t have a problem with pride,” has a problem with pride. William Law said, “You can have no greater sign of a confirmed pride than when you think you are humble enough.”
“O God, I thank you that I’m here in my pew every Sunday morning. I thank you that I don’t have to come to Sunday school to learn the Bible like those other poor people; I thank you that I can learn it on my own. I know I please you Lord by the amount of money I give in the offering plate, the same amount I’ve been giving for 20 years. I thank you that I have already put in my time serving you in the church, giving others the chance to serve now and become spiritually mature like me.”

Last Sunday morning at the picnic woods I found myself in a comparison situation like this. I found myself feeling frustrated with that truck that came into the woods while Jim Delp was preaching. There we were, enjoying worship together, and there was this truck noise. “Don’t they know we’re having church here? Didn’t anyone tell them what’s going on?” See, it was an us vs. them comparison like Jesus is teaching about here. It was spiritual pride that brought those thoughts to the forefront. Pride.

What would cause a talented, successful, wealthy man like Michael Vick to (allegedly) get involved in dog fighting? Pride.

What would cause any talented athlete to take steroids? Pride.

What would cause a person to cheat on a test to get a better grade? Pride.

What causes a person to lie, to exaggerate a story for personal attention? Pride.

William Barkley said, “Pride is the ground in which all other sins grow.”

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 29:23, “A person’s pride will bring humiliation, but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”

There were two ducks and a rather prideful frog who developed a friendship. Unfortunately one year, sort of like this year for us, there wasn’t much rain, and the pond dried up. Well, the ducks knew they could just fly to another location, but what would become of their friend the frog? Finally they decided to fly with a stick between their two bills, allowing the frog to hang onto the stick by his mouth. All was going well until a man looked up and saw them in the sky. “What a clever idea,” he said. I wonder who thought of that?” “I did,” said the frog.

I have been taught much about pride this summer. In taking care of my mom’s life needs, I have wanted recognition. I have wanted pats on the back. I have discovered that I wanted my mom to praise me and thank me and tell others how Meagan is such a good daughter. (I have made myself sick at my wants.) But God has been so good to point out my sin to me. The Scripture tells us that God disciplines those He loves. God has been faithful to teach me in his word, that though I might want a thank you, I don’t need a thank you. All I need is to know I am serving God by serving my mom. There’s no guilt in that. No shame in that. No regrets in that, and no need to have people pat me on the back and say, “Poor Meagan. She just has so much on her right now.” If I need that, it’s because pride is having its way with me.

What keeps us from serving in the nursery every once in a while? Do you realize that if everyone took a turn, no one would be able to serve in this way more than once a year? Why is it always the same people? Do you think it is someone else’s job? Is it because “I wait all week to come for worship. I need to worship. I can’t waste that hour just being with kids.” Ow – that hurts to say it. That’s pride.

Pride finds a person me-deep in a monologue. “I need me-time. I need to sleep in. I need a break from serving. I need, I need, I need.” Yes, we need balance in our lives. But God is the One who provides that balance. What about listening to what God says we need?

Pride finds a person me-deep in a monologue. Humility finds a person knee-deep in prayer – doing a whole lot more listening than talking.

God tells us we were created for works that He prepared in advance for us to do. God tells us that joy comes in giving ourselves away. God tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing.

The tax collector knew the right posture. He knew to kneel before a holy God. He knew that there is no one who is good but God. He knew that if any change to holiness happened within him, it was because God was choosing to do it. He knew his sin – it was ever before him. But he wasn’t prideful in his sin, causing him to be immobilized to serve! He knew he was weak, but he also knew that in his weakness, God’s strength could and would be made perfect for all the world to see.
In my mother’s papers, I found documents that verify that members of my mother’s side of the family are descendents of William Brewster, who was one of the spiritual leaders on the Mayflower and a leader in the Plymouth colony. I was showing these documents to Douglas this week. He didn’t know this part of his heritage. He thought it was pretty cool. It is cool – particularly to me, it’s cool that William Brewster was a spiritual leader – and that Christian heritage has continued all the way to us, so far. But, I’m not going to get a t-shirt printed that says, “I’m a descendent of William Brewster.”
You see, we take pride in birth and rank, but let’s remember that it was said of Jesus, “he was a carpenter’s son.”
We take pride in possessions (look at my new house, my new gun, my new dress), but the Scriptures tell us that the Son of man had no place to lay his head.
We take pride in our independence, but Jesus gave himself and his time away for others.
We take pride in our successes, but Jesus was despised and rejected.
We take pride in our own self-will, but Jesus said, “I seek not my own will but the Father’s will.”
We take pride in our intellect, but Jesus said, “As the Father has taught me, I speak these things.”

In Sunday school we read these couple of verses which I think are really convicting:
Obadiah 3: Your proud heart has deceived you, you that live in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is in the heights. You say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the LORD.
And from Matthew 23: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called ‘rabbi.’ Don’t ever let anyone call you ‘rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Master,’ for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Let us pray: Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us for boasting. Forgive us for wanting more than what you have already given us in Christ. Forgive us for being so prideful that we will not submit to your call to service. Forgive us for thinking we know better than you what we need to thrive. Forgive us for looking down at our neighbor’s spiritual condition in comparison to our own A+ performance. Oh God, be merciful to us. We are sinners through and through. Forgive us, cleanse us, teach us. Grow us in true humility. May you increase as we decrease. May we serve with glad and generous hearts, with no need for praise or recognition. May we serve out of love with great joy – for you are the real joy giver. Keep us in the right posture – on our knees – before you. Grateful and growing. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

08-19-07